Introduction to Regional Geography I

(Pages 1-14)

OUTLINE

· Geography

· Geographic Realms

· Transition Zones

· Regions

· Formal

· Functional

GEOGRAPHY

· The study of place and space

· Studies the location and distribution of features on the Earth’s surface

· Studies human activity, the natural environment, and the

relationship between the two

· Answers where and why

CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

· Biologists

· Geologists

· Historians

· Geographers

GEOGRAPHIC REALMS

· The largest geographic units into which the inhabited world can be divided

· Based on both physical (natural) and human (cultural) yardsticks

· The result of the interaction between human societies and natural environments

· A functional interaction

· Revealed by farms, mines, fishing ports, transport routes, dams, bridges, villages, and other features on the landscape

· Represent the most comprehensive and encompassing definition of the great clusters of humankind in the world today

WORLD GEOGRAPHIC REALMS (MAP)

GEOGRAPHIC REALMS

· Geographic realms change over time.

· Where geographic realms meet, transition zones, not sharp boundaries, mark their contacts.

TRANSITION ZONES (MAP)

· An area of spatial change where peripheries of two adjacent realms or regions join

· Marked by a gradual shift (rather than a sharp break) in the characteristics that distinguish neighboring realms

GEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION (SCHEMATIC)

REGIONS

· Areas of the earth’s surface marked by certain properties

· Scientific devices that enable us to make spatial generalizations

· Based on criteria we establish

· Criteria can be:

¨ Human (cultural) properties

¨ Physical (natural) characteristics

¨ or Both

· All regions have:

¨ Area

¨ Boundaries

¨ Location

FORMAL REGION (MAP)

· Marked by a certain degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena

· Also called a uniform region or homogeneous region

FUNCTIONAL REGION (MAP)

· A region marked less by its sameness than its dynamic internal structure

· A spatial system focused on a central core

· A region formed by a set of places and their functional integration

· Also called a “nodal” region

HINTERLAND

· Literally means “country behind”

· A term that applies to a surrounding area served by an urban center

· Urban center is the focus of goods and services produced in the hinterland

THE PHYSICAL SETTING

· Physical geography

¨ Wegner’s Hypothesis

¨ Weathering

¨ Erosion

¨ Climate